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SAN FRANCISCO -- Bronson Arroyo had never won in San Francisco before pitching a playoff masterpiece. There were all kinds of memorable firsts this weekend for the gutsy Cincinnati Reds, who beat the San Francisco Giants 9-0 on Sunday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their NL division series -- and head home to Ohio on quite a roll. Ryan Ludwick hit his first post-season home run and Ryan Hanigan drove in his first playoff run. More than anything on this night, it was Arroyos turn to celebrate on what he figured to be a fun flight back to Cincinnati. "We couldnt put ourselves in a better situation," he said. "It doesnt mean youre going to close it out, but for us personally, I know the fans are going to be as jacked as they have ever been in that ballpark since it has been built, which is going to be nice." Arroyo, who was winless in his first six starts in San Francisco, retired his first 14 batters and delivered a gem a day after 19-game winner Johnny Cueto went down with a back injury. A pair of Ryans provided the big hits. Ludwick connected leading off the second inning for his first career playoff homer and Hanigan hit a two-run single in the fourth and a later RBI single. Jay Bruce added a two-run double and Joey Votto had three hits in his first multihit post-season game. "Coming on the road, you think about getting one as a success and victory," Bruce said. "To be able come here and get two is very important." Former San Francisco skipper Dusty Baker came into his old stomping grounds by the bay and left with two commanding victories 10 years after managing the Giants within six outs of a World Series title before falling short. He walked through the hallway afterward greeting cheering fans with smiles, high-fives, hugs, waves and even a few hang-loose signs. "We still love you, Dusty!" one woman yelled. Many fans didnt stick around until the end to see the Giants get handed their worst playoff shutout in franchise history. Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Tuesday at Great American Ball Park. Homer Bailey (13-10), who pitched a no-hitter Sept. 28 at Pittsburgh, takes the mound as the Reds try to close out the series against Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong (14-9). The Reds won their first playoff game in 17 years by taking Game 1 without their ace Saturday night, and now theyre going back home looking for their own sweep after the Phillies eliminated them in a frustrating three-game first round two years ago. "Youre not comfortable at all until its over," Baker said. "Weve been there before. Its hard to take the last breath out of anything." The Reds will try for their first post-season sweep since beating the Dodgers in the first round in 1995. Cincinnati got swept in the NL championship series that year by Atlanta to start what became a seven-game post-season losing streak before Saturdays win. The shaggy-haired Arroyo, the right-hander with that high leg kick slightly resembling the familiar motion of Giants Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, went untouched before Brandon Belts two-out single to the gap in right-centre with two out in the fifth. San Francisco didnt get another hit until Pablo Sandoval lined a double off the right-field arcade with two outs in the ninth. "You hate to get beat like that, especially at home," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It happened. We know where were at right now. We know our backs are to the wall. ... Theyve done a great job all year bouncing back." The 35-year-old Arroyo worked ahead and had four straight strikeouts during one stretch to baffle the Giants. Arroyos seven innings marked his longest post-season outing in five starts and 13 appearances -- and he couldnt have picked a better moment to do it. Cueto threw all of eight pitches in Saturdays 5-2 win before leaving with back spasms, and Mat Latos and a patchwork pitching staff handled the rest. Baker said he picked Arroyo for Game 2 here in part because the righty is susceptible to giving up home runs after he allowed 26 this year. And AT&T Park is "one of the most forgiving ballparks in baseball." Arroyo thoroughly outpitched Madison Bumgarner to beat the Giants for the first time since 2008. He had gone 0-2 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts since, getting two no-decisions facing San Francisco this season. And he took the hard-luck loss in Game 2 against the Phillies in 2010 as the victim of a blown save. Boy did he give the bullpen a break with this one. Baker might have left him in longer had it not been a long inning before. "A no-hitter in this type of environment is nearly impossible," Arroyo said. "A win for the ballclub is the pinnacle, nirvana." Cincinnati beat San Franciscos two best pitchers on their home field. Matt Cain lost Game 1. Bumgarner had pitched a one-hitter June 28 against the Reds at home, but was nothing close to that dominant this time. The last time Baker managed in a playoff setup like this season -- with the higher seed opening on the road for the first two games -- he was on the other end. In 1997, while managing the favoured Giants, San Francisco lost the first two games in Florida and the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the NL division series at Candlestick Park en route to the World Series title. Baker has felt good about these Reds all along, even more so after recently missing 11 games while recovering from a mini-stroke, including when they clinched the NL Central. "Hes kind of the heartbeat of this team," Bruce said. "To have him back for the last series and starting the playoffs, especially in San Francisco, where he obviously has a ton of history and is a storied manager here, its good. It gives us a vibe thats pretty easy to play for." He is getting contributions from throughout his lineup and a ready-for-anything pitching staff. On Saturday, it was Brandon Phillips with three hits and a two-run homer and Bruce with a solo shot. The Reds added on late in Game 2 against the Giants typically reliable bullpen with Bruces eighth-inning double, a run-scoring triple from Drew Stubbs and an RBI single by Phillips. Ludwick, who came in just 1 for 16 against Bumgarner, silenced the orange towel-waving sellout crowd of 43,505 AT&T Park in a hurry when he sent the first pitch of the second inning over the centre-field wall. The Reds sure made the Giants pitcher friendly ballpark feel longball friendly the way they hit in these two games. Many of the fans quickly made for the exits after the Reds went ahead 6-0 on Bruces two-run double in the eighth. "We need to go to their place and play aggressive and try to change the momentum," Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro said. "Keep fighting, you never know whats going to happen. Their momentum is really good right now." Tim Lincecum entered in relief for the Giants in the top of the sixth trailing 4-0. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, whose rocky season kept him out of the playoff rotation, pumped his fist after striking out Hanigan to end the sixth before a scoreless seventh. NOTES: Arroyo had never gone six innings in the post-season before Sunday. ... San Francisco was shut out six times during the regular season, tied for second-fewest in the NL with Philadelphia. ... Cueto returned to Cincinnati along with Bailey. ... 2010 World Series MVP Edgar Renteria threw out the ceremonial first pitch and stopped by the clubhouse. "Im very touched," he said. "The fans, they remember and appreciate everything. Im never going to forget this time. They still remember what we did in 2010. Its unbelievable." Wholesale Jerseys . Jamal Crawford led a fourth-quarter rally with 13 of his 21 points, and Los Angeles beat Phoenix 117-99 on Saturday, winning its fifth in a row while sending the Suns to their season-worst sixth straight loss. nfljerseyschinawholesalecheaponsale . The 21-year-old forward had 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) and 106 penalty minutes in 62 games with the Ontario Hockey Leagues Niagara IceDogs this season. http://www.nfljerseyschinawholesalecheaponsale.com/ . The 40-year-old Nestor, who has won the most doubles titles in history, was unable to nose his fifth-seeded team into the quarter-finals. "They put a lot of pressure on us and conditions favoured them a bit more," said Nestor. Cheap Jerseys NFL .Y. - Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore is ready to compete for a starting job, after the first-round draft pick signed a four-year contract worth about $12 million on Thursday. Cheap Jerseys . -- Ichiro Suzuki homered and scored three times, Kyle Seager drove in four runs and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-6 on Wednesday night.KIEV, Ukraine -- France was outplayed, outfought and outscored, and that was against a team with nothing to play for. With world champion Spain now waiting in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, things better improve quickly for the French to stand a chance of going any further. France limped into the knockout round of Euro 2012 despite a 2-0 loss to Sweden in their final group game, showing just how much the team still needs to improve to be true contenders in the tournament. The French finished second in Group D after England beat Ukraine 1-0, and will face Spain on Saturday in the quarterfinals. "You have to be optimistic to think that we can beat Spain, but its hard right now to imagine that we can. We have to do better on Saturday," France coach Laurent Blanc said. "We wanted to finish top of the group but couldnt manage it, so we have to deal with that." Frances 23-game unbeaten streak came to a crashing end as the already-eliminated Swedes exposed frailties in the back four and neutralized the dual attacking threat of Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery. The Swedes dominated proceedings for much of the game and Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock with a piece of artistry in the 54th minute, sending a spectacular volley past helpless goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Sweden had plenty of chances to add a second before Sebastian Larsson finally did in injury time to secure the teams first points of the tournament. "We really wanted to win this game for the fans, their support has been fantastic," Ibrahimovic said. "We wanted to finish this strongly for them." Perhaps France can still do the same, but the team has big problems to solve in both defence and attack. "We were too average in too many areas to hope to win this match," Blanc said. "The Swedish team played with all their hearts, they were better prepared than us. They had a player in their ranks (Ibrahimovic) who made the difference. If you analyze the game, we were in trouble for most of it. "Were very disappointed with how we played. The main thing is that weve qualified." England finished withh seven points, while France had four and Ukraine and Sweden bowed out with three each.dddddddddddd. France looked lacklustre throughout much of the game and lacked clinical finishing when it did threaten the Swedish goal. Substitute Jeremy Menez had Frances best chance to equalize when he broke into the area in the 81st minute but his low shot was stopped by goalkeeper Andreas Isakssons leg. From the resulting corner, Olivier Giroud headed just wide. Benzema was largely ineffective again and remained scoreless at the tournament. Ribery had Frances best chance in the first half when the ball fell to him on the left edge of the area but his shot was parried by Isaksson. Instead, it was Ibrahimovic who stole the show with another spectacular goal to add to his resume. The tall AC Milan striker met Larssons cross from the left and put himself nearly sideways in the air before striking the ball perfectly past Lloris. "It was a perfect cross from Seb," Ibrahimovic said. "The whole team played a fantastic game today." Lloris then single-handedly kept France in the game over the next few minutes as Sweden kept pressing, making point-blank saves to deny Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg. Larsson finally added the second by emphatically volleying a rebound into an empty net, giving the large contingent of Swedish fans a reason to celebrate. "Its mixed emotions right now," Sweden coach Erik Hamren said. "We should be happy with the victory and the performance. ... But at the same time, theres a sense of sadness in us all because we would have wanted to stick around a bit longer." ------ Lineups: Sweden: Andreas Isaksson, Andreas Granqvist, Olof Mellberg, Jonas Olsson, Martin Olsson, Anders Svensson (Samuel Holmen, 79), Kim Kallstrom, Sebastian Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Emir Bajrami (Christian Wilhelmsson, 46), Ola Toivonen (Pontus Wernbloom, 78). France: Hugo Lloris, Mathieu Debuchy, Gael Clichy, Philippe Mexes, Adil Rami, Yann MVila (Olivier Giroud, 83), Alou Diarra, Hatem Ben Arfa (Florent Malouda, 59), Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri (Jeremy Menez, 77), Karim Benzema. ' ' '
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